Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are fast approaching their release date, and while there will be a lot to unpack when the games launch, now is a good time to take a look at what was revealed or leaked so far. The three starters for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be in the spotlight for a while after launch, as players will finally see what their evolutions look like and test them in battle, too. According to the leaks, Sprigatito will evolve into a Grass/Dark Pokemon, Fuecoco will become a Fire/Ghost hybrid, and Quaxly will turn into a Water/Fighting critter, each with its own themes and inspirations.
The starters' type combinations are an important piece of information here because, among other leaks, there are trustworthy sources claiming that there will be new Pokemon in Gen 9 for each of the starters that share their type combination. For Sprigatito, this is going to be a Legendary snail-like critter, whereas Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's rumored Tauros forms include one that has the same types as Quaxly's evolution. Lastly, Fuecoco's evolution will seemingly have the same types as Ceruledge, an exclusive from Pokemon Violet that is already confirmed to be Fire and Ghost. With even more Pokemon in Gen 9, it's possible that the starters will be overshadowed by other options.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Starters Needed More Room to Breathe
Sprigatito is likely the single Pokemon with the harshest competition in Gen 9 because of its type combinations, as there are several other interesting critters that share its types, starting with the early-route Grass-type pocket monster, Smoliv. Usually, Pokemon fans don't like having multiple new creatures on their teams when they share a type, and that's why Sprigatito has it bad, as there are also plenty of Dark-type critters in Gen 9, with a total of eleven new species if leaks are correct. Then, there are also Bisharp's evolution and the Fire/Grass hybrid Pokemon to contend its place with.
Speaking of the Fire/Grass pepper-like pocket monster, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Fuecoco suffers from the same issue as Sprigatito, as a Fire/Grass non-Legendary critter covers the base types of two out of three starters. On top of that and Ceruludge, Fuecoco's relevance and novelty can also be spoiled by the alleged Primeape evolution, which is Fighting and Ghost-type, and then by the rumored coin Pokemon, which is Ghost and Steel. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet nerfing the coin Pokemon before launch could help Fuecoco's case a little, but again, there's a lot of competition for Fire and Ghost-types.
Primeape's evolution in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet can be equally troubling for Quaxly's evolution than it is Fuecoco's, as it does compete for the Fighting-type slot on the team. Quaxly maybe doesn't have the same level of struggle as Sprigatito and Fuecoco, but if the rumors about Tauros getting three regional forms and one that's both Water and Fighting, the duck starter could be overshadowed all the same. An expected rival in the Fighting slot comes from Pawmi's evolution, however, as it is allegedly going to be the first ever Electric/Fighting Pokemon as well as have an all-powerful move that can revive any KOed Pokemon.
While every Pokemon generation of mainline games had lots of interesting pocket monsters to pick from for every type, Gen 9 does use repeat type combinations a tad too often, which is not great for team diversity. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's leaked Pokedex speaks volumes about this issue, and so does the fact that some types are overly populated compared to others. What's particularly indicative of this problem is the fact that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet only have one completely new Ground-type species, and it's a Legendary. Overall, starters might be overshadowed by other critters, but they are hardly the only ones in Gen 9 to get this treatment.
PokemonScarlet and Violet release on November 18 for Nintendo Switch.
